Dan Bellow, one of Houston’s most familiar names in commercial real estate, is stepping back after five decades in the business.
Bellow led JLL’s Houston office for 30 years. He will retire at the end of this year, handing the reins to veteran broker and colleague Ronnie Deyo, the Houston Business Journal reported. Deyo, who has been with JLL for 15 years and heads the firm’s 30-member office tenant representation team, will become president of JLL-Houston on Jan. 1.
Bellow will stay on through next year in an advisory capacity to smooth the transition.
“Between 52 years in the business and 30 years running the Houston region, it’s time to hand over the reins,” Bellow told the outlet. “Ronnie was the perfect candidate to lead JLL to another level.”
Bellow and Deyo’s partnership stretches back to the early 1990s, when both worked at the Staubach Company, the firm founded by Dallas Cowboys great Roger Staubach that was known for pioneering tenant representation as a brokerage model. They were involved with Staubach’s JLL merger in 2008.
Known for mentoring younger brokers, Deyo has been recognized as one of the city’s top dealmakers.
Before joining JLL, Deyo helped close some of Houston’s highest-profile corporate relocations, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s world headquarters and Dow Chemical’s regional office. He was part of the deal to bring Exxon-Mobil’s headquarters to Houston from Dallas-Fort Worth a few years ago.
He will oversee brokerage and business operations for more than 150 employees across Houston and Louisiana in his new role.
Bellow leaves behind a dramatically larger JLL than the one he joined.
Under his leadership, the Houston office grew from about 50 employees and three service lines in 2008 to more than 360 employees and a dozen business divisions today.
As the industry embraces artificial intelligence and data-driven analytics, Deyo said JLL’s collaborative approach remains rooted in relationships.
— Eric Weilbacher
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